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Discounts for
Matches
Activities
for Matches
Focus
On
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Kids of any age can learn to take better care of themselves and their
bodies. (Actually, can’t we all?) Match activities provide many
opportunities for developing positive self-care practices.
Healthful Eating
Cooking and baking together is a wonderful chance
to
discuss healthful eating.
• Include all the food groups in your dinner plans.
Maybe you can challenge each other to try a new vegetable!
• Visit one of the area Farmers’ Markets together,
and talk to the vendors about the produce they raise.
• Learn a new recipe together, and then prepare it
for the Little’s family.
• When you make cookies, enjoy one or two together
before bundling up the rest as gifts for friends or neighbors.
Exercise
Even if you don’t regularly play sports together, Bigs and Littles can
incorporate regular exercise into your time together.
• Go for a walk around the neighborhood, and talk
about houses (or buildings, cars, flowers, etc.) that you like and why.
• If the Big is a student at the university, take a
tour of campus and see where all of the Big’s classes are.
• Enjoy the recent updates at local swimming pools.
• Take the family dog to Hickory Hill.
• Choose a sport that you’d both like to learn or
improve at, and practice together often. (Frisbee golf, anyone?)
Cleanliness
Bigs can be role models about simple habits like handwashing and
brushing teeth, and cleanliness can make a big difference in overall
health.
• Wash your hands together before preparing food,
before and after eating, and after sports or outside play.
• Keep a toothbrush for the Little at the Big’s house
and make it part of your routine to brush together after you eat dinner
or a snack.
• If cleanliness is a concern, Bigs can ask their
Littles to take a couple of minutes to get ready before leaving for a
match activity, and be clear about what steps need to be taken (e.g.,
“Why don’t you go wash your face and hands before we leave for the
museum?”)
• Older kids may need honest, kind, and
straight-forward encouragement to use deodorant, fingernail clippers,
or skin-care products. A trip to the drugstore might be less
embarrassing if you are both shopping for personal-care items.
HEALTH AND HYGIENE RESOURCES ON THE WEB
http://childparenting.about.com/od/childdevelopment/
Information about kids’ normal hygiene practices, organized by age
http://familyfun.go.com/
Click on the “Recipes” tab for fun and simple ideas for cooking with
kids
http://www.uiowa.edu/~shs/icfitness.htm
A webpage from UI Student Health Services, with a short list of area
fitness activities, including some of the most popular parks and trails |
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